Point of View

The Black Echo follows LAPD Detective Harry Bosch from the time he discovers that a dead body is that of a colleague in Vietnam through the surrender of his partner and lover, FBI Special Agent Eleanor Wish. The lion's share of the novel is devoted to following clues. Bosch is under suspension and visiting Mexico when a major bank robbery occurs. This provides an opportunity for Wish to fill him in on particulars. She goes into meticulous detail about the robbers' planning and execution, seeming to admire their handiwork. Only at the end of the novel does she reveal that she pulled the strings while letting her boss, whom she wants above all to bring down, to think he is in charge. The anonymous third person omniscient narrator seems closer to Bosch's perspective than to Wish's and does not betray the truth until Bosch stumbles over...